


whatever you lack, i make up (we make a really good team)

by wafflesofdoom



Series: love is not designed for the cynical [1]
Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff and Humor, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Light Angst, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-08
Updated: 2020-05-08
Packaged: 2021-03-02 23:13:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,034
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24074998
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wafflesofdoom/pseuds/wafflesofdoom
Summary: it was eddie, who found out about the bet.that had been the 118's first mistake.or, the one where buck and eddie find out about the 118's bet on their relationship and set out for some well deserved revenge - with athena's help, of course. and a seven-phase revenge plan.
Relationships: Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz, Evan “Buck” Buckley/Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV)
Series: love is not designed for the cynical [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1744054
Comments: 52
Kudos: 1154
Collections: 9-1-1 Tales





	whatever you lack, i make up (we make a really good team)

**Author's Note:**

> title from 'for him.' by troye sivan

It was Eddie, who found out about the bet.

That had been the 118’s first mistake.

If Buck wasn’t struggling to keep up with his boyfriend’s colourful rant about their friends, he would probably find it kind of endearing how annoyed Eddie was. In all honesty, if Buck had been the one to overhear about the bet that had been going on for years about their relationship (or lack thereof, he supposed), Buck would have laughed it off and asked who was winning the pot.

Eddie, on the other hand.

“It’s _disrespectful_ , Evan!”

Eddie called him Evan a lot more in private, lately. Buck understood it – for Eddie, it was a way to compartmentalise. Buck was his co-worker, and Evan was his boyfriend. It’s not like Buck needed to do the same – or could - but he understood Eddie well enough to know that his boyfriend needed to be able to separate certain things out.

Buck often wondered if it would stay the same when their relationship wasn’t a secret anymore. The Buck/Evan division helped to keep the reality of the changing nature of their relationship a secret, and there was times Buck realised they needed all the help they could get with that.

It’s not that they set out to deliberately keep their friends, and family, out of the loop, but their relationship felt like something they needed to figure out between the two of them before they left the whole world in on it.

Neither of them were naïve. It wasn’t as easy as kissing, and falling into bed together, and the rest would come naturally. They were two grown adults who’d lived independently, and alone, in Buck’s case, for a long time. Being in a committed, long-term relationship was going to take some getting used to, and they’d both wanted to do that growing and learning in private where no one else could have an opinion, or thoughts, on what they were doing right or wrong.

“Eds,” Buck fixed his boyfriend with a soothing gaze. “I’m sure they didn’t mean it to be disrespectful.”

Eddie huffed, crossing his arms over his chest, Buck taking a second to admire the satisfying bulge of Eddie’s upper arms. Sue him, his boyfriend was stupid hot. “It doesn’t matter what they intended, you know,” he said, using his ‘dad voice’ – the one he broke out when he was trying to explain something to Chris. “I still think its disrespectful. What if we’d found out about it and neither of us had romantic feelings for each other? Or if we’d found out before we were ready to acknowledge what was happening between us? It would have made things so awkward.”

Buck could see Eddie’s point. “Sure,” he hummed his agreement, willing Eddie to stop pacing his living room and sit down before he got dizzy. (It didn’t work, unsurprising – mind-reading was a tough skill, Buck assumed.) “But what can we do about it?”

Buck wasn’t sure if he found the look on Eddie’s face concerning, or sexy.

“I have an idea,” Eddie declared, gesturing furiously, as though Buck would be able to understand what his grand plan was from the weird hand-movements he was making. Making a mental note to work on the whole mind-reading thing, Buck raised a questioning eyebrow. “We need a mole.”

**phase one: the mole**

Finding out who wasn’t involved in the bet was easier than Buck had expected it to be. Eddie had overheard Hen, and Chimney discussing the bet, and so Eddie had unilaterally decided that one of their lockers would be the best place to start.

Buck still wasn’t massively offended by the bet, if he was being perfectly honest – but he couldn’t help but enjoy the idea of some good old fashioned revenge, especially if the bet had been going on as long as Eddie was convinced it had been. There was potentially quite a lot of money at stake here, and Buck wasn’t opposed to the idea of taking Eddie on a nice date on their co-workers dollar.

He just hadn’t expected Eddie’s plan to start with lock picking and actual invasion of privacy.

“This is such a bad idea,” Buck said from his guard position at the door of the locker rooms. Turns out, Eddie was great at picking locks – Buck had definitely made a mental note to ask about that when they weren’t invading their friends privacy and rooting through their lockers.

“ _Aha_!” Eddie declared triumphantly, easing a tin-box out of Hen’s locker. It should have been their first assumption, really, that Hen was in charge of the semantics of the bet. She was much better with organisation than Chim was – his locker had been the kind of insight into Chimneys disorganised chaos Buck hadn’t needed or wanted. “I’ve got it.”

Buck looked nervously over his shoulder. “You do?” he asked, curiosity winning out over the part of his brain that was all too aware that Bobby would murder the two of them if he walked in and saw they were breaking into their teammates lockers.

There was definitely some sort of unwritten (and written) rules about not stealing your co-workers stuff.

Though – they weren’t stealing, really, Buck supposed. Just – searching.

“Buck, there’s thousands of dollars here,” Eddie sounded completely astounded. “It’s been going on for _years_.”

“What?” Buck really, really wanted to come and see now.

“There was a bet that we’d hook up my first week on the job – and about a million more since then,” Eddie said, the unmistakeable sound of his phone camera filling the silence of the room, Eddie clearly taking pictures of the logged bets.

“Who _isn’t_ involved?”

“God, **everyone** is,” Eddie said, sounding increasingly more annoyed. “Even Josh is. Do we even hang out with Josh?”

“Not really,” Buck agreed. “Eddie, come on, hurry up, someone is going to end up walking in.”

“Yeah, sorry, I’m nearly done,” Eddie said, snapping a few more pictures before he closed the box, putting it back where he’d found it in Hen’s locker, clicking the lock shut easily, Buck finally feeling as though he could breathe as they left the women’s locker room, standing back out in the station where they were less suspicious.

“Who hasn’t bet on us, then?”

Eddie’s grin was, frankly, wicked, and Buck did not appreciate being that turned on in a work context. They were going to be having a conversation about that. “Athena.”

Getting Athena on her own proved a little harder than the whole breaking and entering phase of their plan. Buck had to – quite literally – talk his insane boyfriend down from dialling 911 and requesting Athena at a fake emergency because a) it was illegal to make bogus 911 calls, and b) Maddie was a dispatcher and if she so much as thought something was wrong with either of them, she’d tell the 118, and then their whole plan went to hell in a handbasket.

No, they had to be more subtle than that.

Which was why they were stalking Athena around a mall.

Buck wasn’t proud of what he’d done to find out where Athena was. Really – he wasn’t. He’d spent the morning obsessively watching May’s Instagram stories, quickly realising the mother and daughter were spending Athena’s day off hanging out and going shopping.

Which led to what was happening there and then.

Buck wasn’t sure when his life had turned into – well, whatever sort of bad, revenge comedy movie it apparently was – but whatever karmic energy had inflicted this situation on him was a particularly cruel one.

“No! Eddie, I am not doing it.”

“Buck, come on, you know you’re her favourite,” Eddie urged, the two of them hiding behind a rack of prom dresses – because that wasn’t weird or creepy of them at all, Buck thought to himself, glaring at his boyfriend.

“That doesn’t matter!” Buck hissed dramatically. “Eddie, this whole thing is a bad idea. Let’s just drop it, and let someone win the pool, and maybe they’ll just give up on this whole thing.”

“No!” Eddie was determined, fisting his hands in the front of Buck’s t-shirt. “Evan Buckley, our insane co-workers are not getting away with this.”

“They’re just co-workers now?”

“You know what I mean!”

“Eddie, you are acting like an insane person!”

“You know,” Athena’s voice interrupted their stage-whisper argument as she pulled apart the rack of dresses, fixing them with a curious look, May laughing alongside her. “Next time you want to tail someone around a mall, you should probably make sure they’re not a trained police officer.”

Buck realised how insane they probably looked, there and then – two grown men in the middle of the prom dress section, Eddie probably looking as though he was going to slam Buck against a wall to anyone who didn’t know them better.

“Athena!” Buck plastered a grin on his face. “Fancy seeing you here!”

“I didn’t know you were so into sequins, Buck,” Athena hummed, raising an eyebrow. “You two want to fill me in on what’s happening here, or do I need to call the 118 and see if you guys have been dosed with something again?”

Eddie let go of the front of Buck’s shirt, shaking his head. “We were looking for you,” he admitted, nudging Buck roughly in the side.

“We need your help,” Buck said. “With something secret.”

Athena grinned. “Well – why didn’t you say?” she drawled, gesturing for them to follow her. “May and I love secrets.”

“You know,” Athena said, stirring her coffee absently. “If you need my help, you’re going to have to start doing some talking.”

Buck couldn’t disagree, wincing as he drank too much of the overpriced iced coffee, he’d gotten himself, the cold giving him an instant brain freeze. “Do you know about the bet the 118 – and apparently everyone else we know – has going on about us?” he asked.

Athena nodded slowly. “And now you both do as well?”

“Yeah, I overheard Hen and Bobby talking about it,” Eddie interjected, fondly rolling his eyes as Buck tried to rub his brain freeze away, May offering him her water.

“And its safe to assume you’re not happy about it?” Athena said. “I said it, I said to Bobby it wouldn’t sit well with either of you if you found out. For a man so hung up on regulations, I’m surprised he let something so inappropriate go on for so long.”

“Well,” Buck found his voice. “That’s kind of why we want to talk to you – you’re the only person we know who’s not involved in the bet,” he explained, messing with the plastic straw in his drink.

“How do you know who’s involved?” Athena raised an eyebrow.

“I think maybe you don’t want to know the answer to that,” Eddie admitted, flushing beetroot red.

“Hm.”

“I guess – we wanted to know why you hadn’t put a bet on,” Buck asked, genuinely curious. Athena was probably the most perceptive person he’d ever met, and he’d figured she’d be the kind of person who’d figure out when they got together, right down to the moment.

“Because whatever relationship there is, or isn’t between you two, is not my business,” Athena said. “And it’s certainly not for me to bet on. If someone had been betting on when Bobby and I might start dating – oh, I would not have been happy.”

Buck could feel Eddie’s stupid fucking grin as he realised Athena was on the same page with his insane reaction.

“So,” Athena leaned forward, grinning. “How long have you been dating?”

Buck wasn’t proud of the way he snorted coffee out of his nose in shock. Really, he wasn’t – but he sort of couldn’t stop his body’s natural reaction to Athena’s far too honest question.

“Gross,” May mumbled, passing a stack of tissues across the table to Buck, who gave her a grateful smile.

“I – how?” Buck spluttered.

“Just because I wasn’t willing to make a bet, doesn’t mean I don’t have functional eyes, Buckaroo,” Athena said fondly, mopping at the table. “And I figured there must be a reason why you’re asking me for my help together.”

“Two months,” Eddie said quietly. “Almost. We – we were about to tell everyone, ask Bobby to fill out the HR paperwork.”

“Two months is a long time to flout LAFD rules,” Athena pointed out.

“We know,” Buck said. “But we – it’s so hard to make a relationship work when you’re a first responder, Athena, you know that, and we just….” he trailed off, looking at Eddie. “We wanted a chance to figure this out for ourselves before we let everyone else in on it. I’m sorry.”

Athena shrugged. “I don’t work for the LAFD,” she said. “It’s not as though I’m required to report anything.”

“Thank you,” Eddie’s voice was dripping with gratefulness.

“Plus, I’m intrigued,” Athena smirked, May’s expression scarily similar to her mother’s. “What sort of revenge plan have you two cooked up?”

Buck couldn’t help but exchange a grin with Eddie.

Bingo.

Shifting in his seat, Buck leaned in, keeping his voice low. “Well. It all starts with...”

**phase two: setting the plan in motion**

It all started with Eddie and Buck, actually.

They’d been waiting for the perfect call all week, and then, finally, the stars aligned – an accident at a café, where the ceiling had caved. No one had been hurt, thankfully – it was too early for it to be busy – and Athena had been called to the scene, arriving at the same time as them.

“Let’s do this,” Eddie smirked, bumping his fist against Buck’s as they headed into the partially collapsed building. There was two staff members inside, who said they were fine – just trapped behind a pile of debris.

“LAFD, call out if you can hear me,” Buck hollered, the bright white interior of the café migraine inducing.

“We’re here! Behind the counter!”

Buck twisted, realising the issue pretty quickly. The ceiling had collapsed in the centre of the café, structural beams keeping the ceiling over the counter up – but leaving the two staff members trapped behind a pile of plasterboard and concrete.

“My names Buck, this is my partner Eddie,” Buck explained. “We’re going to get you out, it might just take a couple of minutes to move this rubble.”

“Are you both okay? Any injuries?” Eddie called.

Swallowing the urge to pounce his boyfriend (Eddie in full medic mode was sexy to the point where Buck wondered if he was developing some sort of medical kink), Buck waited for the two trapped staff members to respond.

“We’re okay,” one said. “Carly’s wrist is pretty sore, but I put some ice on it. Was that the right thing to do?”

“That was the right thing to do,” Eddie reassured. “Can you get as far back from the rubble as you can?” he asked.

“It’s pretty cramped back here.”

“That’s okay, just try and get back as far as you can,” Buck said. “And if anything starts falling on you, tell us right away. Okay?”

“Okay.”

Buck pulled back from the counter, turning on his radio. “Cap, we’ve got ourselves a game of Jenga in here,” he said. “Two victims, they say they’re uninjured – but they’re trapped behind the counter. We need all hands on deck in here to start pulling it down before it falls down.”

Bobby’s reply crackled over the line.

“Myself and Chim are on our way in,” he said. “Richardson, Allen, you heard Buckley, all hands on deck.”

Within a few minutes, the whole team was inside the café, listening to Buck’s directions to move the rubble as quickly as they could without bringing it down on top of the two staff members stuck on the other side. As soon as there was enough of a gap for Buck to stick his head in, he did just that, greeting the two trapped twenty-something year olds on the other side.

“Hi,” he greeted. “I’m Buck. You guys doing okay?”

They both nodded up at him, Buck scanning the tiny space. One of them – Carly, he assumed – was clutching her wrist close to her chest, a rapidly melting bag of ice Buck assumed had been destined for iced coffees held to her injury.

“Eddie,” he yelled. “Come here.”

Stepping away, he let Eddie climb up so he could stick his head through the gap. “Hi,” he greeted. “I’m Eddie, I’m a medic. Carly, can you take the ice off your wrist for me?” he asked, Buck watching his boyfriend’s ass attentively as he spoke.

He was glad this part of the plan involved them being painfully obvious.

“Great, thanks Carly. Put that ice back on for me, that’s good,” Eddie said. “You never gave your name?” he directed at the other girl.

“Emma,” her response was muffled by the piles of concrete.

“Well, Emma, you were right to get ice on her wrist,” Eddie said. “Well done. Are you hurt at all?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Then you both just hold tight and we’ll have you out of here in no time,” Eddie said, hopping down and letting Buck steady him as he landed on a pile of rubble, Buck’s hand lingering on his waist for much too long to be entirely platonic.

“She okay?” Buck asked.

Eddie nodded, reaching for his radio. “Hey, Hen,” he said. “One of the girls has a wrist injury. I can’t tell if its fractured or broken from this far away, but it doesn’t look too bad. No other visible injuries.”

“Thanks, Eddie,” Hen’s voice crackled over the line. “ETA on getting them out?”

Eddie waited for Buck to reply.

“Five, six minutes?” Buck estimated, looking at the pile of rubble. “We just need a big enough gap to pull them out through safely.”

Eddie relayed the information to Hen, and the two of them set to work, sweat dripping down Buck’s neck and into his uniform as he worked, the stress of moving concrete worsened by the turnout gear Bobby had forbade them to take off.

It was going to be a damn hot day in Los Angeles.

“Carly, Emma, we’re going to get you out through this gap,” Buck explained as soon as they’d moved enough concrete to pull a person through. “Have you got something back there you can stand on so I can reach you?”

Emma nodded, scrambling to find a couple of upturned crates. “I could stack these,” she said.

“Just stack two,” Buck said. “I don’t need one of you to fall,” he said. “Carly, will you come first? Emma, you’re going to need to hold those crates steady for her.”

The two girls seemed terrified enough to follow Buck’s instructions without question, and within minutes he had one of them out, passing her off to a waiting Eddie. “Great work, Emma,” he reassured. “Those crates might be a little unsteady, but don’t worry – you’ve got two working hands, and I’m taller, so I’ll be able to grab you easily. Okay?”

Emma nodded nervously, letting out a tiny yelp as the plastic shifted beneath her feet. “Sorry,” she mumbled. “That was embarrassing.”

“No need to be embarrassed,” Buck reassured. “This is scary, right? Not what you expected when you woke up for work today.”

“Not really,” Emma moved a little more easily as Buck distracted her, stretching her hands over her head, close enough that Buck could grab them, hoisting her out through the gap. “I guess it’s normal for you, though.”

Eddie smirked. “A real life Superman, this guy,” he said. Buck would feel bad they were taking advantage of this call if he didn’t like hearing Eddie compliment him so much. “Come with me, we’ll get you checked out.”

“Superman?” Bobby questioned with an eyebrow.

“What can I say?” Buck puffed his chest out, knowing Richardson and Allen were already rolling their eyes at his antics. “The guy sees me for what I am.”

Bobby sighed good-naturedly. “Structural engineers and investigators are on their way,” he said. “We’ve just got to hold the scene until then.”

Buck nodded, dragging his helmet off as he stepped out into the sunshine, Eddie and Hen checking both girls over in the back of the ambulance. Athena was there, arms folded across her chest as she spoke with the altogether nervous looking owner – building code couldn’t have been up to standard, Buck decided.

Typical.

“Eddie,” Buck decided to make an absolute show of it now everyone was outside, and eyes were on them. “Great work.”

“Thanks,” Eddie gave him a fucking glittering smile and if Buck wasn’t wearing layers of heavy turnout gear, he might have actually popped a boner, there and then.

“Are you guys together?” Carly inquired, her wrist firmly in Hen’s grip as she splinted it.

Buck could have hugged her, there and then – if it wasn’t weird and wildly inappropriate. “Nah,” he grinned. “He wishes we were.”

Eddie rolled his eyes. “I’d pity the person who ended up with him,” he replied directly to Carly.

Buck could feel the annoyance pouring from Hen as he busied himself packing away gear in the truck, listening in as Athena approached Hen, both girls in the ambulance.

“They’re killing me, ‘Thena,” Hen said dramatically. “Eddie called him Superman out of nowhere. What is that about?”

Buck couldn’t see Athena’s face, but he assumed she was rolling her eyes.

The plan continued with Athena.

“I know,” Athena said. “Girl, you know what? I want in on that bet. It’s getting ridiculous.”

“I thought you didn’t want to bet on them?”

“That was before they were turning me grey with their stupidity,” Athena said. “Put me down for fifty, I’ll pay up when we have drinks next week.”

“Will do,” Hen replied. “Better get these two to hospital.”

“Talk later,” Athena reassured, walking back toward her jeep, pausing just long enough to drop a wink in Buck’s direction.

The plan was officially in motion.

**phase 3: the fake boyfriend**

Buck’s pretty sure it was obvious from the beginning he wasn’t straight. To Hen, at least. Buck 1.0 hadn’t been much of a fan of labels, and it didn’t matter what body parts you did, or didn’t have, when you were looking for a warm body and a hook up – he’d definitely see Hen at a gay bar, more than once, and he’d played the pronoun game often enough for her to have caught on.

It was Chim and Bobby he wondered about.

Buck – he said this with all the love in the world, but they were the straightest people he’d ever met in his life. He was pretty sure that unless he started making out with an actual man right in front of Chim’s face, his friend and future brother-in-law would remain completely oblivious to Buck’s not at all hidden sexuality.

But that was about to change.

Buck had considered asking Albert, just to enhance the sheer ridiculousness of their plan, but Athena had suggested she get one of her officers in on the plan – and well, it was too good an opportunity to pass up.

Ryan had just pulled up to a call as they were getting ready to leave, and Buck dropped him a wink. “Officer Mendoza,” he greeted. “I didn’t think I’d see you again so soon.”

Ryan was a nice guy. If anyone looked too closely, or knew him particularly well, they’d realise he was wearing a wedding ring around his neck and had a husband out on his fifth tour in Afghanistan, but none of the 118 knew him well enough to verify that information.

Hopping down from the truck, Buck approached the patrol car.

“I think your co-workers are willing my car to go on fire,” Ryan laughed, stepping out of the car.

“Then the plan is working,” Buck reassured, mouth quirking up the corners. “Thanks for doing this, by the way.”

“How could I refuse, when Athena told me the whole story? I love a good revenge plot,” Ryan laughed.

“Officer Mendoza,” Bobby’s voice was tight. “Thanks for getting here so quickly.”

Buck took it as his opportunity. “I’ll see you tonight Ryan!” he said enthusiastically, well aware that everyone was listening. “Pick me up at the fire house at eight.”

Without waiting for Ryan’s response, Buck headed for the truck, yanking his headset down over his ears, Chim and Hen practically burning holes in the side of his head with how intensely they were staring at him.

“What?” Buck feigned ignorance.

“What was that? With Officer _Mendoza_ ,” Hen said his name as though it was something utterly disgusting, and Buck didn’t need to look at his boyfriend to know Eddie was barely holding in laughter.

“Oh, we went on a date Saturday,” Buck answered, the lie rolling off his tongue easily.

Chimney looked as though he was about to have an actual aneurism. “Wait – what – since when – what?”

“Try that in English, Chim.”

“You like guys?” Chimney managed to sputter.

“Yeah,” Buck confirmed, as if it were entirely obvious. “Did Maddie not tell you?”

“Maddie knows?!” Chimney looked absolutely incredulous.

“The boyfriend she teases me about? Carter? From high school?”

“Carter is a very gender neutral name!” Chimney protested.

“Your assumption of my heterosexuality is not my problem, Chimney,” Buck said primly, Bobby starting the truck. “Next thing you’re going to tell me you think Eddie is straight as well.”

Buck didn’t know it was possible for someone’s face to turn the shade of purple Chimney’s did, there and then.

“Chimney, man, you’ve got to tell me you didn’t think Jack was a girl,” Eddie said, laughter tugging at the corners of his eyes.

“I thought he was a very good friend!” Chimney protested.

“As much as I’m enjoying this,” Bobby drawled. “Can you take this conversation elsewhere? As in, not the work place.”

And that was how Bobby inadvertently contributed to the plan.

“I still can’t believe you thought I was straight, Chim,” Buck drawled a few nights later, the 118, plus Maddie and Karen, crowded around a table at one of their favourite bars. He had his arm slung across the back of the booth, managing to get Maddie and Eddie in one go.

“I’m sorry!”

“I can’t believe it either,” Karen laughed, loose-lipped after a few drinks. “Buck is one of the least straight men I’ve ever come across.”

Buck leaned across the table to high-five Hen’s wife. “Thanks, Karen.”

Maddie sounded apologetic as she piped up. “I thought you knew Chim, honestly,” she said. “Given the way my brother acted in high school, I figured his hook-up habits followed him to LA.”

Buck smirked. “They did,” he confirmed. “Chimney, you just view the world through such heteronormative glasses.”

Chimney slumped in his chair. “And Eddie, too?”

“You never asked,” Eddie shrugged, and, being the menace he was, he closed his mouth over the opening of his beer bottle, taking the longest, slowest drink Buck had ever seen another human being take, his lips pulled tight around the glass, red, and wet, and deliciously kissable.

Motherfucker.

“As interesting as this conversation is, didn’t we come here to get drunk?” Buck said, shifting uncomfortably in his jeans. “Shots are on me.”

He ignored the response from the table, which varied from ‘Buck, no’ to ‘Buck, yes’ and headed for the bar, grinning to himself as he remembered exactly why he’d worn the jeans he was wearing – the last time he’d worn them on a date night with Eddie, they hadn’t even made it out of the house.

Doing his best to keep the tray of tequila shots steady as he manoeuvred through the crowd, Buck was pleased to see that Eddie’s face was flushed red as he set the tray down. “To…. Not being straight,” Buck winked directly at Eddie, Hen and Karen hollering their agreement as the table downed one, and then two shots.

“God, those are awful,” Maddie winced, shaking her head.

“Awfully fun,” Buck winked. “Let’s dance, Maddie.”

Buck’s heart felt like it was going to burst out of his chest with pure love as Maddie laughed, accepting the hand Buck offered her, regaling him with some story of a long forgotten family wedding where Buck had refused to leave the dancefloor. There had been a time where Buck had wondered if he’d ever have this again, this closeness with his sister.

He’d been sixteen when she’d married Doug. Sixteen year old Evan Buckley hadn’t been old enough to recognise the pattern of abuse that had started with their father and continued with his sister’s new husband – sixteen year old Buck was too focused on staying alive until eighteen, and then getting the hell out of Pennsylvania and never, ever looking back.

He still sometimes felt like it was his fault.

Logically, Buck knew it wasn’t. He hadn’t been much older than Christopher was now, when Maddie had met Doug, and back then, Doug had been the fun older brother type – he’d bought Buck ice-cream, and they’d taken him out of the house often enough that Buck couldn’t help but associate Doug with good things – freedom, and McDonalds, and movies, and new sports shoes, when his father had refused to replace his old ones.

He’d been too young to realise Doug wasn’t the person he’d shown to the rest of the world – and by time he did realise, it had been years since he’d seen Maddie and Buck hadn’t known how to get her out, not when she wasn’t willing to leave, and not when Buck had only just gotten himself out of their fathers grasp.

“You’re thinking too hard,” Maddie said pointedly.

“I’m just thinking about how glad I am that you’re back in my life, Maddie,” Buck admitted, pausing so he could twirl Maddie around the dancefloor.

“I’m glad of that too,” Maddie reassured. “I know – I know I left you, Evan, that I left you there, but I….”

“You were a kid too,” Buck interrupted quietly. “I can’t hold it against you, Maddie. You wanted out, and you got yourself out.”

“I should have taken you with me,” Maddie shook her head.

“He would never have let me go,” Buck pointed out. “And you’re here now, Maddie – and we’re happy.”

“Are you?” Maddie asked, making Buck feel as though she knew more than she’d ever let on with him. He was never sure what Chimney told her about work, but he was sure his sister’s boyfriend kept her up to date on all things Buck and Eddie.

“Why wouldn’t I be?” Buck shrugged.

“It’s just – Ryan came out of nowhere,” Maddie shrugged. “I didn’t know you were dating again.”

“I wasn’t, until I was,” Buck didn’t love lying to Maddie – really, he didn’t – but it was part of the plan. “I decided it was about time for me to get back out there. Abby – she’s married, now, Maddie, and I needed to let myself properly move on.”

“With Ryan?”

“He’s nice,” Buck said. “He makes me laugh, and we have a nice time together.”

“Love is supposed to be earth-shattering, you know,” Maddie said. “Nice isn’t an earth-shattering word.”

Earth-shattering.

Buck used to believe that too – that love should come and sweep you off your feet – but he hadn’t believed that in a long time. His relationship with Abby had been beautiful in its quietness, and Eddie – God, Eddie had wormed his way into every nook, and cranny, and crevice of Buck’s life, and one day, Buck had just woken up and realised he wanted that forever – Eddie’s clothes in his drawers, Christopher’s drawings on the fridge.

That hadn’t been earth-shattering – his love for Eddie was life affirming.

“Maybe not everyone gets that kind of love,” Buck replied simply, swinging Maddie around the dancefloor.

“Not even with Eddie?”

“Eddie is my best friend,” Buck said. It wasn’t a lie. “That’s all I need from him.”

That wasn’t a lie, either.

If it had turned out Eddie hadn’t felt the same as him, Buck would have dealt with it. It would have been hard, sure, but Eddie’s friendship was so fundamental to Buck’s life, he would never have given it up – it was just lucky, that Eddie had felt the same, and Eddie had stayed his best friend and became his life partner along the way.

Buck didn’t need earth-shattering – he didn’t want it, either. Eddie’s love was comfortable, and familiar, and settled deep into Buck’s bones in a way he wouldn’t ever shake, not even if he lived for eternity.

That was the love he needed.

Buck just – couldn’t tell Maddie that yet.

“Can I cut in?”

Buck relinquished his sister to Chimney with a smile, moving to step off the dance-floor before a hand on his waist stopped him.

“I want to dance with you,” Eddie said, voice quiet.

“Here?”

Eddie nodded. “They can think whatever they want,” he said, pulling Buck close as the music changed to a thumping beat, one that felt as though it was pumping through his veins. “I want revenge on them for that stupid bet – but that doesn’t mean I’m ashamed of what I feel for you, Evan.”

Buck couldn’t help the dopey grin that appeared on his face. “I know you’re not,” he said. “But I know its going to be really hard for you to not kiss me right here and now.”

“Oh, is it?” Eddie raised an eyebrow. “I think you’re forgetting which one of us has more self-control.”

“Is that a challenge, Mr. Diaz?”

“If you want it to be.”

Buck loved this. He loved how – how fucking easy it was to love Eddie, how they had naturally fitted together from the beginning, even as they’d eased out the kinks in their newfound relationship. It had always felt like they were supposed to end up together.

Popping open the top few buttons of his shirt, Buck let Eddie take the lead, his boyfriend’s hands on his waist as they moved to the beat of the music, lost in their own world as they danced. Buck wasn’t the best dancer in the world, but he couldn’t pretend he wasn’t having fun as Eddie guided his hips, the two of them practically grinding against each other, oblivious to the world around them.

“I want to go home,” Eddie said, glancing over to where their friends were. “I want to go home with you Evan.”

Buck nodded. “I – I’m not going to let them win,” he said, voice fiercer than intended. “I’m going to pretend Ryan called me, and then you’re going to leave a little after I do, and I’ll meet you at home.”

Home.

There was no question of where home was – home was Eddie’s house, one that was filled with life, and laughter, and memories, Christopher’s drawings and toys everywhere, Buck’s spare uniform hanging in the wardrobe.

At this point, they were just waiting for Buck’s lease to end.

“I love you,” Eddie said, visibly straining with the urge to kiss Buck.

“I love you more,” Buck quipped. “Don’t make me wait too long, Diaz.”

Before Eddie could reply, Buck weaved his way through the crowd, back to their table, Maddie and Chimney having left the dancefloor without Buck noticing.

Hen let out a low whistle. “I didn’t know Eddie could dance like that,” she said. “If I wasn’t gay, I might find it hot.”

“It was hot,” Maddie confirmed, shrugging off Chimney’s offended glare.

Buck rolled his eyes, reaching for his jacket.

“Wait, where are you going?” Maddie practically demanded, glancing between Buck, and Eddie, who was still on the dancefloor, dancing some sort of salsa with a stranger.

“Ryan’s,” Buck shrugged, the lie easy, this time. “He asked if I wanted to come over.”

“Wait – you’re leaving now, after dancing with Eddie like that, to hook up with some other guy?” Chimney asked, confused.

“Yeah,” Buck said, as if it were obvious. “Was I supposed to hook up with Eddie, or something?”

“You’re – you two are insane,” Chimney slumped in his seat, honest in a way he wouldn’t normally be now he was drunk.

“See you Sunday!” Buck grinned, pressing a kiss to Maddie’s cheek and waving their other friends goodbye, calling an Uber as he headed for the exit of the bar.

The plan was very much in motion.

“You know,” Buck looked up as Eddie stumbled out of an Uber, eyes bright and his shirt half undone. “I think Chimney was ready to kill you – did you go and get McDonalds without me, asshole?” Eddie asked, mouth hanging open as he looked at the takeout bag on Buck’s lap.

Buck held out his milkshake as a peace offering. “I was hungry, and I didn’t know how long you would be,” he said. “I got extra fries – and a burger for you, though it might be kind of cold now,” he said, apologetic.

“God, you are the best boyfriend,” Eddie hummed gratefully, taking a sip of Buck’s milkshake before rooting in the takeout bag, seemingly not caring that his burger was mostly cold, eagerly tearing off the wrapping.

“You worked up quite a sweat,” Buck said teasingly, reaching into the bag for a handful of fries.

Eddie nodded, mouth too full of food to speak.

“You’re really hot when you dance,” Buck continued. “You were right – it was really hard not to kiss you there and then. Maybe I don’t have any self-control.”

Eddie grinned at him, dark hair askew. “I was one more song away from making out with you against the wall like a teenager,” he admitted, bumping his knee against Buck’s. “Why are we sitting on my doorstep when I’ve got a perfectly good house, by the way?”

Buck shrugged, glancing up at the sky. He’d lived in Los Angeles for long enough to know that he was never going to be able to properly star-gaze – too much light pollution – but that didn’t change Buck’s desire to remind himself of how much bigger the universe was, sometimes.

“It was a nice evening,” he said quietly.

“It’s not because you still don’t believe this is your house too?” Eddie asked.

Buck hated how well his boyfriend knew him.

“Your lease ends at the end of July, Buck,” Eddie said. “You move in here in just over a month – we have a joint bank account for rent and bills, now. I don’t know how to make it more real for you.”

“It’s not you,” Buck shook his head, smiling as he remembered how grown up, how real it had felt to go and open a joint bank account with Eddie the previous week – how utterly silly it had felt to be so excited by something so simple, and how much he’d enjoyed the way Eddie had echoed his excitement.

“What is it then?”

“My stupid brain,” Buck admitted with a sigh. “I can’t help but feel like the other shoe is about to drop.”

“Well, it’s not,” Eddie’s lips were on his, then, salty and rough against his own. “It doesn’t matter what shoes do, or don’t drop, Buck – it’s me and you. The rest doesn’t matter.”

“Mm,” Buck leaned into the kiss, revelling in the feeling of finally being able to do what he’d wanted to do all night. “Forever?” it sounded silly, as soon as Buck said it, but the question was out there before he could engage his brain.

“Yeah,” Eddie’s voice was soft. “Forever, Evan.”

**phase four: the one with the emergency**

Their plan was going pretty much perfectly. Buck and Eddie had been more handsy than ever at work, and Buck had piled on the fake flirting with Ryan at every scene they were called out to for the better part of three weeks.

Between the two of them, and Athena and May, they’d decided that the Fourth of July party at Bobby and Athena’s would be when they came clean. Athena had put her bet down on it happening that day, and she’d win the pot.

Done, and dusted.

It had felt so easy to cruise along for the last five days of the plan, and then they’d have pulled off the most epic revenge plan on their co-workers.

Until the fire.

It had all gone too well, Buck decided in hindsight – an apartment block fire, a mostly calm evacuation, 119 cutting a strip in the roof as the 118 cleared the floors, pulling tenants with smoke inhalation out of each apartment.

Until –

Until the explosion.

Someone must have left their gas on.

Buck was halfway out the exit when he heard the explosion, and he knew it was Eddie as soon as the bang had boomed out across the lot. “EDDIE!” he couldn’t stop the raw scream that escaped his throat as he deposited the person he’d been carrying out with Chimney, running back into the burning building.

“Firefighter Buckley, pull back!”

Buck ignored Bobby’s command, wild eyes searching the wreckage in front of him. Eddie hadn’t been far behind him on the stairs, he’d been talking about how they should get Thai takeout for dinner when they got off shift, Buck disagreeing – because three am spring rolls were just gross, Eddie, and –

“Eddie!” Buck yelled again, finding his boyfriend trapped beneath the wreckage of the staircase. “Eddie, I’ve got you,” he reassured, his boyfriend out fucking cold. Swallowing his fear, Buck let his instincts kick in, moving the charred wood off Eddie’s body.

No penetrating wounds.

That was good.

But –

Eddie’s mask was shattered.

Dragging the broken plastic off Eddie’s face, Buck pulled his own helmet off, taking his oxygen off and slotting the mask over Eddie’s face. “Cap, this is Buck,” he coughed into his radio. “I’ve got Eddie. He’s out cold,” he explained, hoisting Eddie over one shoulder, wishing his stupid boyfriend would just wake up and tease him for manhandling him.

But Eddie stayed quiet.

Buck knew he’d inhaled too much smoke as he finally made it out of the burning building, easing an unconscious Eddie to the ground. Pulling off the oxygen mask, Buck held an ear to Eddie’s mouth. “He’s not breathing,” Buck tried not to sound hysterical. “He’s not breathing!”

Buck started compressions, counting desperately in his head as he did.

Where the hell where Hen and Chimney?

Swallowing his terror, Buck titled Eddie’s head back, pinching Eddie’s nose, and closing his mouth over Eddie’s own, breathing for a count before he pulled back. “Fuck, he’s still not breathing,” he pleaded, Hen near collapsing at his side.

“I’m going to get a collar on him,” Hen said. “You need to keep giving him mouth to mouth, Buck, we don’t have – we don’t have enough fucking equipment,” she said, her cursing the only indication of how worried she was. “Keep going Buck!” she yelled, snapping Buck out of his trance.

Buck nodded, tossing his helmet aside as he kept doing compressions, Hen taking over as Buck gave Eddie mouth-to-mouth again.

“He’s not breathing, Hen,” Buck was crying now, he knew he was crying – and he didn’t have the strength to be fucking ashamed of it, either.

“Again, Buck,” Hen ordered, glancing over her shoulder. “Chimney is on his way.”

Buck nodded, stomach churning as he kept going, the scent of burn and ash filling his nostrils as he did his best to breath life back into Eddie. Ear to Eddie’s mouth again, Buck was nothing short of hysterical as he spoke. “He’s breathing,” he said, Chimney practically throwing himself at their sides.

“I’m bagging him,” Chimney said. “Buck, move. Buck, get out of my damn way.”

Buck let whoever was standing behind him – Bobby, he assumed – drag him out of the way.

Watching Eddie get bagged and put on a stretcher felt like having an out of body experience – in the worst possible way.

“Get in the ambulance.”

Buck looked up at Hen’s order. “I’m fine.”

“How long was your mask off?” Hen demanded, Buck not finding the energy to answer. “Exactly. Get in the ambulance so I can look you over.”

Buck was helpless to do anything except agree, letting Hen strip him out of his turnout coat and shove an oxygen mask on his face, fingers itching to curl around Eddie’s limp ones.

“Deep breathing, Buck,” Hen encouraged. “You need to get oxygen into your lungs, you know that. So, breathe.”

Buck didn’t exactly trust himself to speak.

“Breathe, Buck,” Hen said, pointing at Eddie’s vitals. “He’s doing okay, and you’re no good to him if you’re passed out from smoke inhalation.”

Buck nodded, forcing himself to take deep breathes.

Screw the fucking plan.

**phase five: the one where it goes to hell in a handbasket**

Buck could feel them staring.

He hated it.

He’d been given the all-clear by a doctor about an hour ago, and since then, he’d been stuck in the worlds most silent waiting room with the rest of the 118, refusing to say a word. He’d called abuela, while he was waiting to be seen to, and she’d agreed to take Christopher to school in the morning – and then he’d waited.

He was –

Angry.

Buck couldn’t really explain it, but he was angry.

“Buck,” Hen’s voice was soft.

“What?” Buck didn’t even try and hide the annoyance in his voice.

“You haven’t said a word,” Hen wasn’t deterred.

“What do you want me to say?” Buck whipped his head around fast enough that he heard a crack, swallowing his own wince. “That Eddie and I are together? I think that’s pretty obvious.”

“Buck,” it was Bobby, this time.

“Do you need the details now?” Buck practically snarled, angry bubbling up, and out, now. “So you can see which one of you won the bet?”

The shocked silence that followed his question was enough for Buck.

He couldn’t stop the vicious smile that appeared on his face. “What, you didn’t think we knew?” he stood up, restless. “You thought you were good at keeping that a secret?”

“Buck – “

“Fifty on Buck to be the one to screw it up first, right?” Buck directed at Chimney, stomach churning. He and Eddie had scanned through the photos of the betting book, Buck on board with Eddie’s revenge plan from the moment he’d started reading through it and realised their friends – their fucking family – had bet on every possible thing that might happen between them.

“Buck, I’m sorry – “

“I don’t care,” Buck interrupted. “Did any of you ever stop to think about how it would make Eddie, or I feel when we found out? Because we were always going to find out. Did you think about how it would make us feel when we realised we were just this big old joke to you?”

“Buck, it wasn’t like that,” Hen tried to reassure. “We didn’t mean to upset you.”

“It doesn’t matter what your intention was,” Buck growled. “Why do you think we’ve been doing all this – the stupid PDA at work? Me pretending to hook up with Ryan? We even got Athena in on it – to rig the betting pool so we’d win the money.”

Buck watched as Bobby glanced over at Athena.

“But it doesn’t fucking matter, none of it fucking matters anymore, because – because the love of my life is in hospital, again, and none of you understand what you even did wrong,” Buck wasn’t sure if he was getting a migraine from the smoke inhalation or from his own yelling.

He just needed to see Eddie.

“Go.” Buck’s voice felt scarily steady as he spoke. “I don’t want any of you here right now, go.”

“Buck,” Bobby’s voice was pleading.

“They’re not going to speak to you anyway, I’m his emergency contact,” Buck said, rubbing at his forehead. “Go. I mean it.”

Something in Buck’s voice must have made them listen, and slowly, one by one, they filed out of the waiting room, until only Athena was left.

“What do you need, Buckaroo?” she asked, voice soft.

“Eddie,” Buck admitted, tears threatening to spill again. “I just need Eddie, Athena.”

Athena gave his elbow a squeeze. “I’ll be back in the morning with breakfast for you unless you tell me otherwise,” she said, joining the rest of the 118 outside the room, leaving Buck alone with his thoughts.

 _Come on, Eddie_ , Buck pleaded, praying to whatever God was listening, rubbing roughly at his eyes. _I can’t do this without you_.

“Mr Buckley?”

Buck looked up as an unfamiliar doctor entered the room.

“Mr Diaz is going well,” he reassured. “No brain injury – just some bruised ribs and smoke inhalation,” he said.

“But – he was out for so long?”

“He fell badly,” the doctor said. “And his body went into protection mode. You’re lucky you got him oxygen as fast as you did – he’ll feel rough for a couple of days, but he’s going to be just fine.”

“Thank you,” Buck was practically tripping over his own words. “Can I see him?”

“Of course,” the doctor smile. “He’s in room 216.”

Buck didn’t wait to hear another word, finally leaving the waiting room and making his way down the hallway to Eddie’s room. His boyfriend was still unconscious, hooked up to more oxygen. He looked better, now the blood and soot had been washed – just, a little pale.

Tugging a chair close to Eddie’s bedside, it dawned on Buck just how tired he was, and he slumped heavily into the chair, reaching for one of Eddie’s hands. “I love you,” he murmured, as if Eddie was awake to hear him. “So much, Eddie. Don’t scare me like that again.”

“Buck. Buck. Evan. _Evan_!”

Buck startled awake as he heard his name being called, blearily looking at a now wide-awake Eddie. “Eddie!” he gasped, gripping Eddie’s hand tightly.

“My arm was going numb,” Eddie said, apologetic that he’d woken Buck up. “You must have fallen asleep on it.”

“Sorry,” Buck soothed, trying to ease the pins and needles in Eddie’s arm. “How are you feeling?”

“Okay,” Eddie said. “Breathing sucks right now.”

Buck nodded. “Smoke inhalation – pretty bad, this time,” he explained.

“What happened?”

“The stairs collapsed,” Buck said, hating how his stomach twisted as he began to relive the night before for the sake of clarity for Eddie. “You hit your head, but somehow escaped any sort of head injury. You – you stopped breathing, Eddie. I had to give you mouth to mouth in front of everyone.”

Eddie’s eyes were practically sparkling. “You gave me mouth to mouth in front of everyone?”

Buck couldn’t help but laugh. “Yeah,” he said wetly. “I gave you mouth to mouth in front of everyone. And I cried. Quite a lot, actually.”

“You’re a sap,” Eddie said affectionately. “Evan, I’m okay, I promise.”

“I know,” Buck tried his best to swallow his tears. “You weren’t, for a bit.”

“But I am now,” Eddie weakly squeezed Buck’s hand. “Where is everyone, anyway?”

Buck’s face burned bright red. “Uh, about that,” he began. “I may have lost it, a little.”

“Lost it?” Eddie raised an eyebrow. Eddie – he was the one with the temper, not Buck. Buck was more likely to just stand there and take whatever was happening and deal with it later, alone. Eddie was the one who was more likely to start a fight.

“I yelled,” Buck admitted, snorting a little. “I yelled at Bobby, and everyone else, and I told them we knew about the bet, and I told them how mad I was about it.”

“Are you mad about it?” Eddie asked. “Because you never said you were, Evan.”

Buck swallowed thickly. “Fifty on Buck being the one to screw it up,” he quoted, not quite meeting Eddie’s eye.

“Ev…”

“I know they didn’t mean anything by it, really, but that – that was hard to read,” Buck admitted. “Is that how everyone sees me?”

Eddie shook his head, expression furious. “No,” he said, voice firm. “Evan, you’re the best person I’ve ever met – by a long shot. Anyone who thinks that about you says it because they’ve got no idea what it’s like to be loved by Evan Buckley – and I’m glad. Because I’m the only one who gets to have that.”

“Shut up,” Buck mumbled.

“You shut up,” Eddie retorted childishly, shifting in his bed. “Come here.”

“This bed is not big enough for both of us.”

“We can make it work,” Eddie said, fixing Buck with the kind of look he couldn’t say no to. Buck eased himself out of the chair he’d slept in, his back and knees protested as he did so. Carefully, so he didn’t jostle any of the wires and tubes attached to Eddie, he eased himself into the hospital bed beside his boyfriend.

“You smell terrible,” Eddie hummed.

“Don’t be an asshole,” Buck mumbled, pressing his face to the scratchy material of the hospital gown Eddie was wearing.

Eddie’s reply was quiet, his boyfriend’s hand scratching through Buck’s messy hair. “Just pointing it out, Ev.”

**phase six: the fourth of july**

They’d made the mistake of already mentioning Athena and Bobby’s Fourth of July party to Christopher, so there was no way they could get out of going – Chris was too excited, and no matter how pissed Buck was, he wasn’t going to make the kid sad.

So here they were, outside of Bobby and Athena’s place. Buck – he’d sent a text to inform them that Eddie was fine, and Bobby had told them to take the next couple of days off, but Buck hadn’t spoken to any of them since.

Not even Maddie.

“You okay?” Eddie hummed, watching as Christopher made his way to the front door ahead of them, excited to see Denny and Harry.

“Yeah,” Buck sighed, reaching for Eddie’s hand. “I’m not apologising.”

“I wouldn’t ask you to,” Eddie reassured, linking their fingers together tightly. “I think you were right.”

“You’re not just saying that?”

“When have I ever agreed with you just for the sake of agreeing?” Eddie questioned. “I’m going to call you out if I think you’re wrong, Evan – it just happens that on this occasion, I think you’re right, and I probably would have done the same. Or worse.”

“Definitely worse,” Buck agreed, his stomach lurching as Christopher rang the doorbell, the door swinging open almost instantly.

“Chris!” May greeted with a sunny smile. “It’s good to see you.”

“Happy Fourth of July!” Christopher beamed at her, his smile making Buck’s heart thump out of his chest.

“Harry and Denny are in the back garden,” May said, ruffling Christopher’s hair, the little boy eagerly making his way inside Bobby and Athena’s house, familiar with the place in a way that made Buck’s heart ache.

These people really were his family. His stupid, annoying family.

May grinned at the two of them as they approached the front door. “I think Bobby is still trying to wrap his head around you yelling at him,” she teased, pressing a kiss to each of their cheeks in turn. “I’m glad you came,” she directed at Buck, scarily like Athena as she fixed him with a curious gaze.

“You’re too like your mom,” Buck mumbled, May laughing as the three of them entered the house. The garden was full of noise, the kids already playing some sort of obnoxiously loud game involving baseball bats and Lego, and Buck couldn’t help but notice the 118 were sitting at the kitchen table – Bobby, Athena, Chim, Hen, Karen, Maddie, everyone.

Buck refused to let Eddie’s hand go as he looked at them, steely eyed. “I’m not going to apologise for yelling,” he said firmly.

“No one was going to ask you to,” Bobby said, looking between the rest of the team.

“Your yelling wasn’t even the worst,” Chimney grimaced. “You should have heard the dressing down Athena gave us all outside the hospital – I think they were about to call the cops on her,” he said, clearly trying to lighten the mood.

Athena simply beamed at the two of them from where she was sipping on a glass of wine.

“I wish I’d heard that,” Eddie mumbled, low enough for Buck, and only Buck to hear.

“Jokes aside, you were right, Buck,” Bobby said. “It was wrong of us to bet on you two the way we did – I let it go on for too long, and I’m sorry. Your relationship is your business, not that of the fire houses. Well – aside from the HR paperwork, but we can talk about that Monday. Sorry, I didn’t meant to get all – Captain Nash. I just wanted to apologise.”

“Us too,” Hen gestured between her, and Karen. “I’m sorry guys, I really am.”

“Me too,” Chimney said. “I’m sorry – for everything. And for getting Maddie involved.”

“I’m sorry too,” Maddie said, her eyes wide and sincere.

“We – the money is yours, guys,” Hen added, gesturing to the familiar tin box on the table.

Buck exchanged a look with Eddie, and even if he couldn’t read his boyfriends mind, he knew they were on the same wavelength. “We don’t want it,” he said, wincing as he realised the prospect of a dirty weekend away in a fancy hotel was slipping from his grasp. “Donate it,” he added, Eddie giving his hand a reassuring squeeze. “And never do it again, seriously.”

Bobby was the first to break, smiling widely as he embraced them both in turn. “Never,” he reassured. “Station 118 is a bet-free zone now.”

“Actually,” Eddie was grinning. “I think I have a better idea.”

**phase seven: the new plan**

Even Eddie had to raise an eyebrow at the colourful string of curse words that left Buck’s mouth as Hen beat him once more in whatever video game they were playing.

“You kiss Eddie with that mouth, huh?” Hen shoved at Buck’s shoulder.

“Yup,” Buck grinned, winking at Eddie, reaching for another of the biscuits Maddie had dropped off to the station before her shift, the cookie crumbling around the corners of his mouth. “He likes it,” he reassured, the statement met with a chorus of groans from the team.

“Box, Buck,” Bobby called from the kitchen.

Buck eased himself up off the couch, pausing to lean down and press a cookie flavoured kiss to Eddie’s mouth as he headed for the kitchen.

“You’re utterly disgusting Buck,” Hen commented, watching as Eddie wiped the transfer of crumbs from his mouth, not so much as batting as eyelid at Buck's actions. 

“You think that’s gross?” Eddie raised an eyebrow. “Hen, do I really need to remind me of when Buck tried to kiss me with a mouthful of beer on Fourth of July and dribbled in my _actual_ mouth?”

Buck couldn’t help but snort as he rooted in his uniform pocket for the ten dollar bill he knew was in there. “You said you weren’t going to repeat that story, Eds,” he called, leaning on the counter and depositing his ten dollar bill in the all too familiar box. “Who picked this months charity?” he snorted, reading the label.

' _Guide Dogs of America_ '

“I did,” Eddie called from his position on the armchair. “I figured guide dogs were your kindred spirits, Ev.”

Buck gave his boyfriend the finger without turning around, deciding it was high time to annoy Bobby. “What’s cooking, Cap?”

Eddie couldn’t help but lean in to Hen, now Buck was sufficiently distracted. “Want to help me win one last bet?” he inquired, Hen looking intrigued by his words.

“I thought bets were off-limits?”

Eddie smirked, glancing over to where Buck was standing. “This one is between me and Buck,” he admitted. “He bet me that he’d be the one to propose first.”

“And you don’t like his odds?” Hen was grinning now.

Eddie couldn’t help but match her grin, unable to keep all the happiness he felt inside of his body – not anymore, not now he lived with Buck, not now his life was so damned perfect. It was the kind of happiness that was made to be shared. He looked over to the kitchen where Buck was helping Bobby with dinner, his boyfriend engrossed in whatever Bobby was explaining to him. “Not when I have a ring in my pocket and a plan.”

**Author's Note:**

> i have no excuse or reason for this. hope you enjoyed!


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